From the History of Russian Law to the History of State and Law of the USSR: The Transformation of the Science and the Academic Discipline in 1917-1940s.

The article aims to show the transformation of the science and the academic discipline "History of Russian Law" over the period from 1917 to the 1940s, to establish the degree of continuity and innovations that manifested in the transformation. The study is based on research works on the history of state and law, published historical sources, archival materials. Narrative, comparative legal, and institutional methods were used. Two institutional forms of legal science development were identified: universities and departments of the Academy of Sciences. In the 19th century, an independent area of scientific knowledge was established; its object was historical forms of law. Educational courses on the history of Russian law were based on the study of legislative acts and other sources of law. According to the University Charter of 1863, departments of the history of Russian law were created, scientific research was actively conducted, and works on the history of law were published. After the 1917 revolution, the political and ideological trends in legal science and education changed dramatically. Universities and academic structures as institutional forms survived, but underwent major changes. Law faculties were abolished at universities, specialized departments were closed. The history of Russian law or a comparable discipline in content was not taught. To prepare new academic personnel and conduct research in social sciences and the humanities, including legal science, the Socialist, subsequently Communist Academy and the Institute of Red Professors were opened. These institutions did not create separate units specializing in the study of the history of state and law. The circle of researchers studying such problems decreased sharply. In the 1930s, the Soviet model of the organization of science and higher education, which included many elements that had developed in the Russian Empire, was approved. Interest in historical sciences was restored. Curricula for training lawyers included a discipline that was first called "History of the State and Law of the Peoples of the USSR", and later "History of State and Law of the USSR". The leading role in the development of its content, object, and method belonged to S.V. Yushkov. The continuity with the history of Russian law was preserved. The most significant differences were the change in the chronological and territorial framework, the etatization of the object, and the use of the Marxist methodology. New approaches were reflected in the textbook History of State and Law of the USSR. The first part of the textbook, prepared by S.V. Yushkov, was published in 1940. It covered only the pre-revolutionary period. The second part described the history of the Soviet state and law. It was edited by A.I. Denisov and published in 1948. Thus, by the end of the 1940s, the new branch of scientific knowledge and academic discipline was established.

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